This talk discusses the geopolitics of the Single Market in financial services in the European Union (EU) by examining three crucial case studies: (1) the post-2008 crisis transatlantic tug of war, whereby the EU leveraged its Single Market vis-à-vis the US, seeking to set the rules for global finance; (2) the Brexit negotiations, when the EU acted as a block against the UK and successfully safeguarded the integrity of the Single Market; and finally, (3) in 2022, during the war in Ukraine, the EU ‘weaponized’ its Single Market through the adoption of financial sanctions against Russia. We argue that a combination of external and internal factors accounts for this geoeconomic turn: the evolution of the international economic and political system, in particular, the increasing challenges to the liberal order; and intra-EU developments, namely, the EU’s ability (regulatory capacity) and willingness (alignment of member states preferences) to deploy its Single Market geopolitically.

Speaker
Amy Verdun, Professor of Political Science at University of Victoria

Register for virtual viewing.